The last thing I need is another loom, but I succumbed to temptation and bought a used and partially dismantled 40" macomber.  I have the castle and back beam in one piece, everything else is taken apart.  So I am sitting here with several bags of hardware, trying to figure out what goes where.

The loom has 16 harnesses, came with TEN!!! reeds, a sectional backbeam and a regular beam, and a bench.  When I got home, I found that I dont have any hooks to tie up the treadles and the seller says she looked all over and cant find them.  I guess I got a good deal anyway, and will probably tie up my treadles with texsolv rather than hooks (at $1.25 per hook and 100 hooks, the texsolv is not that much more of an expense).   One side of the built in tool rack is missing, too - Im not sure if we lost it in transit or if it was lost when the woman I bought it from moved the loom downstairs, but I can fashion something if I decide to use it.   Most likely I will just weave another basket to sit on top of the castle.

I talked to Ed at the Macomber shop and he told me that the loom was built in 1968.  The brackets for the lower beam are wood blocks, but for the upper beam, there are cast iron brackets.  Ed cant figure out why this loom has the cast iron brackets since they werent used after sometime in the 1950's when a fire destroyed the factory.  As long as they work, I am fine with them - however, he told me that they are installed in the wrong place on the back beam uprights so I have to move them to the uppermost position.

The wood needs to be cleaned and I will lightly sand most of it and put on a coat or two of Howards.  There are a few areas that need a more strenuous sanding to minimize the appearance of scrapes, gouges, and dents, but for the age of the loom, it is in great shape.  So I will do all this before I put the rest of it back together, and I will clean and lubricate the lamms and treadle bar.   The biggest issue for me, I think, is going to be getting the friction brake(s) assembled correctly.  This loom has friction brakes for both back beams, something that I havent seen before.

Gail

Comments

Wed, 10/19/2011 - 14:08

Xylem

I'm about 1/4 way through cleaning up a 56" 8H that I aquired (loom #3 for me). Parts have been ordered from Macomber and I hope to be weaving on it by December. Will look forward to hearing progress on your 40" Steve
Thu, 10/20/2011 - 01:16

Deanna (not verified)

Great to find a new loom and all those reeds!

Thu, 10/20/2011 - 01:30

Kiiki (not verified)

Hey, the loom wasn't from Norristown, PA by any chance, was it?

edited to add: by brackets, you mean the pieces that hold the warp beams on? My loom was built in '67 and I have cast iron brackets holding on both of my, plain, warp beams.

Thu, 10/20/2011 - 12:14

Michael White

Sounds like you have your hands full. Enjoy bring this Mac back to life.

Michael

Thu, 10/20/2011 - 13:52

gailc

Yes, it was from Norristown - an easy driving distance for me (for once).  Much less nerve-wracking than driving 200 miles with my fireside in the back of the truck.

The cast iron brackets I wrote about are the brackets for one of the back beams - in this case the top one where the brackets are on the inside of the back upright.  The lower brackets are wood and are installed so the beam is to the back of the uprights.

I think the apron has been replaced and really isnt wide enough for a warp that would be the full width of the reed.  It is in decent shape (just a little dirty at the edge where we dragged it into the truck bed).  I wont bother to replace it until I have a project that needs the full width - although I doubt that I would ever be doing a 40" width project using more than 8 shafts, so i can always do the wide things on my fireside.

I do have a question about the sectional beam for those of you who have one:  my beam is 1" sections, but the cords for attaching the warp seem to be spaced at 2" apart.  Is this the way it is supposed to be, or did a lot of the staples get pulled out?  These cords are way too clean to be the originals.

Thu, 10/20/2011 - 13:21

Kiiki (not verified)

I asked because there's sort of a funny story behind that loom, but I'll let Connie decide if she wants to tell it. ;-)

Our serial numbers aren't far apart, and both of my warp beams are attached with cast iron brackets, so I found Ed's comment that they weren't using them at that time interesting.

Thu, 10/20/2011 - 13:33

gailc

I hope its not something I dont want to know about the loom.

Thu, 10/20/2011 - 14:25

Kiiki (not verified)

just funny. Since I opened my mouth, a few of us were thinking about it, but then I heard it sold. I was wondering what happened to it, but figured I'd never know-- and then I saw your post. It just seemed too coincidental to not be the same loom! I just thought it was funny that it was the loom and I "knew" who bought it. It's nice to know it went to a good home. It's such a small world, thanks to these online communities. :-) Can't wait to see it brought to life.

It's interesting that it has friction brakes for both--do their sectional beams always have friction brakes?

Thu, 10/20/2011 - 16:16

andsewon (not verified)

Hi Gail, As Kiiki mentioned, I was inquiring about that very loom. The seller said it had a weaving width of 39 1/2 inches, but the serial number she gave me clearly indicated that it was a 48" Mac. She told me it was a B4 #4894. According to Sarah's blog, that would make it a 48 or bigger. ???? Anyway, if it is actually a 40", then you stole my dream loom! Just fix it all up and deliver it to me and I won't alert the authorities of the theft. ;o)
Thu, 10/20/2011 - 17:14

Michael White

Macomber recommends using 1 friction brake and 1 ratch brake to control the tension. You a'll can read the posting here somewhere. Connie that lady made have given you the overall wide of the loom. Keep looking your dream loom is out there somewhere.

Michael

Thu, 10/20/2011 - 17:31

gailc

Michael, I asked Ed about the 2 friction brakes when I was speaking with him and he said that although most people get a friction brake for one beam and a ratchet brake for the other, some have two friction brakes.  After thinking about it, my Fireside has two friction brakes as well.

Thu, 10/20/2011 - 17:55

gailc

Hi Connie,

I asked her about the size as well and was a little confused about the 39 1/2" - I assumed that it was a 32" weaving width which would have been fine with me.  She also told me that there was no number on the loom, so you got more information than I did.  That is the correct serial number and it is somewhat contradictory to what is on Sarah's blog because according to that there is no B4 loom that is 40" weaving width, that would have to be a B5.  The only explanation I can think of is that the numbering system was changed sometime after 1968.

I will fix it up, but you would have to come get it - it is heavy and it is now down a set of steps that required two very sharp turns.  I figured that it would just stay with this house forever even if I move - LOL.  Even without any hooks, the price sure was right.  I never expected to get 10 reeds with one loom.  I think there are a few more parts that I might need, but nothing major, I hope.  I dont have a beam crank and some of the hardware may be missing, but I think all the wood parts are there.  There were also a few extraneous things that I cant identify - they are not Macomber parts, even Ed couldnt figure out what they were, a raddle that is not a Macomber raddle, and something that looks like a wool comb without a handle.

Thu, 10/20/2011 - 21:49

andsewon (not verified)

I might just take you up on that! The raddle that I saw in the pictures she sent looks exactly like the one that came with my 32" Mac. Hey, maybe we should trade. I have the 32" 12H that I restored. You have the 40" that I've been looking for! lol The heddle bars and reeds looked a bit rusty in the pics but I couldn't tell if it was just because of the poor pics. Yes, the price was a steal with all the beams and reeds that came with it. When I tried to call Macomber about the serial number, I could never get an answer. Those two desperately need SOMEONE to run the "front of the house" for them.
Thu, 10/20/2011 - 22:53

gailc

You are so right - they need someone to man the phones.  It took me four calls to finally get answers. 

The heddle bars are somewhat rusty, but I think it is just surface rust.  The top reed doesnt look rusty, just discolored.  I dont know what the interior ones look like because I havent taken off the shrink wrap.  They arent stainless, that's for sure.  According to Ed, a macomber raddle would look like the prongs on my sectional beam, it wouldnt have been the loops like on the one that came with this loom.  There is also another homemade raddle done with finishing nails (I would rather have had the brake handle than two raddles).

It wasnt so much the 40" width that made me get the loom, but the 16 shafts.  It actually has all 16 (I think, maybe I should have counted).  I will have to invest in a roll of texsolv and a lot of anchor pins, probably buy a beam handle from macomber, and replace the strings on the sectional beam, but even with that investment it was a good deal.  I have no idea yet what size reeds there are, only that the one on top of the package is a 20 dpi - I dont see myself using that one, or anything with more dpi either.  Seems to me it would be easier to use a 10 dpi and put two threads in a dent.

Thu, 10/20/2011 - 23:34

andsewon (not verified)

I'm not so sure that the one raddle made with finishing nails is homemade. The one I have is identical. Perhaps someone was making them at one time and selling them at shows. I don't know. But to have two that are nearly identical is quite a coincidence. The 40" width is the smallest Mac that you can get with 16 shafts. Connie
Fri, 10/21/2011 - 00:14

Kiiki (not verified)

Hmm, the raddle that came with my Mac is a "rustic" piece of wood with nails tapped into it every inch. I have to make a new one because there is a large hole on the side, where a knot of wood fell out. I was wondering if it was home made or from Macomber. It certainly looks very old.

Wed, 10/26/2011 - 17:38

Connie

At some point I replaced the cord on my sectional beam. Which is one long a continuous looping of cord. The solution provided by Macomber folks worked very well. I ordered a spool of waxed cord and tacks to hold the cord to the beam. The tacks are the shape of a staple, but much heavier and sharper.

Remove all old cord. It is not necessary to remove the old staples or tacks, just hammer them into the beam and begin the new cord elsewhere on the beam. Note that hammering into the hard wood takes some effort and skill, so this step of pushing the old ones into the beam is good preparation for hammering in the new ones.

A raddle is needed for the job. Make one by simply nailing finishing nails (ones with minimal heads) at 1" intervals onto a strip of wood a bit longer than the beam. Secure this raddle on top of the castle; this provides the correct length of the cord.

Attach the cord to the beam under the first peg by hammering it into place with a tack. Bring the cord up to the raddle and wrap it around a nail. Bring the cord down to the beam and attach it under the next peg, again by hammering the cord into place with a tack. Repeat till the last section on the beam. And secure the end of the cord, in the same manner.

Next step is to put the cord into each section on the beam. Similar to when you’re at the end of a warp; but this time the cord is on the raddle and not on groups of warp yarn. Lower the raddle and find a comfortable position to wrap the cord around the beam in the individual sections. An inverted V is formed by the cord as it comes off 2 tacks into a section.

I did this once many years ago. I could do it again having moved the sectional beam to a lower position. Instead I’ve just added colorful cord extensions to decrease the loom waste of warps.

Thu, 10/27/2011 - 00:22

gailc

I will need to do this on the loom I am fixing.  Someone did put new cords on the sectional beam, but 1) they are individual cords, not a continuous loop, and 2) the sections on the beam are 1" spacing, but the cords are set at 2".  It was done with some kind of shiny braided nylon cord, too heavy in my opinion.  I was thinking that I would have to attach the new cord to a different side of the beam, because the side with the cords now already has two sets of holes, one of which has the incorrect spacing.